Drafting Fuel Type Viz.qmd
Looking for possible visuals for different audiences
Option 2 Plan
I’ve decided to pursue Option 2, where I’ll create three visualizations to answer one overarching question, each tailored to a different target audience.
Although my original plan for Option 1 was to explore how emissions (NOx, SO2, CO2) in the U.S. vary by state and fuel type, and to examine the relationship between the number of power plants and total emissions in each state, I found that this approach was too broad and complex for a single infographic with the visualizations I was exploring.
Overarching Question:
What are the major sources of CO2 emissions across U.S. power plants, and how do these sources vary?
Sub-Questions for Each Audience:
- Technical Audience: What is the total CO2 emission by plant primary fuel type?
- Policy Makers: How do fuel types contribute to total CO2 emissions in proportion to eachother?
- General Public: Which fuel types have the highest total CO2 emissions, and how do they compare?
Data Overview:
I’ll be using the eGrid 2023 dataset, which includes the following key variables: - Plant primary fuel category: Defines the fuel type (e.g., coal, natural gas, nuclear). - Plant state abbreviation: Indicates the U.S. state for each power plant. - Plant annual CO2 emissions (tons): Represents the CO2 emissions for each plant annually. - Plant latitude and longitude: Geospatial data to visualize emissions by location if necessary.
I’ll use Plant primary fuel category to categorize emissions by fuel type and Plant state abbreviation to compare emissions across states. Plant annual CO2 emissions (tons) will be the primary metric for comparing emissions.
“I found two excellent visualizations for inspiration:
Heat Map of GHG Emissions
I found an interesting heat map that illustrates the variations in the average hourly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity of grid systems. This type of heat map might inspire me when visualizing emissions data by time or fuel type. You can view the heat map here.Carbon Emissions Visualization Examples
Another useful resource is an article on Storybench that highlights five different ways organizations are visualizing carbon emissions. This could give me ideas for various graphical approaches to presenting emissions data. Check out the article here.”
“I’ve sketched three visualizations for my target audiences:
A horizontal bar chart showing CO2 emissions by fuel type (technical audience). A pie chart illustrating proportional CO2 emissions by state for policymakers. A heatmap displaying total CO2 emissions across states for the general public.”